Teenagers accused of ‘trying to destabilise Russia and Ukraine’

Little was known about the PMC Ryodan movement until last weekend, when more than 450 teenagers were arrested in Russia.

PMC Ryodan teenagers, with their distinctive black tops and spider logos

A new youth subculture whose members dress in black clothes decorated with spiders has been accused of seeking to destabilise both Russia and Ukraine after a series of mass brawls.

Little was known about the PMC Ryodan movement until last weekend, when more than 450 teenagers were arrested in Russia after fights broke out at shopping centres from St Petersburg to ­Siberia.

Within days, the movement had spread to Ukraine, where at least 250 teenagers were detained by police in Kharkiv as they gathered to take part in pre-arranged clashes.

Vasily Piskarev, head of the Russian parliament’s security committee, claimed the movement may have been created by western countries or Ukraine to foment discord.

“It is necessary to find out if representatives of unfriendly countries are behind the new ‘fashionable structure’, the only goal of which is to destabilise the situation through our youth,” he said.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, called the movement a “pseudo subculture” that was harmful for Russian society. Police in St Petersburg told schoolchildren that Ryodan was linked with western intelligence services.

Ryodan members, typically aged 14 or 15, are inspired by Hunter x Hunter, a Japanese manga, or comic, series about a boy who goes on a quest to become a member of an elite group. They have long, dark hair and wear clothes with a spider symbol and the number four, with plaid trousers.

1/ #Russia#Moscow

The police began to detain teenagers who look like members of PMC "Redan"

In the St. Petersburg shopping center "Gallery" today about 100 teenagers were detained. https://t.co/psALUgS6R4pic.twitter.com/ahLX0iCCTU

— David Kime (@CyberRealms1) February 26, 2023

In Kurgan, a region in central Russia, more than 100 children alleged to belong to the Ryodan movement were detained by police last week. Vadim Shumkov, the regional governor, called them “mummy’s revolutionaries” and suggested they should be sent to fight in Ukraine.

In Khabarovsk, a city in Russia’s far east, dozens of suspected Ryodan members were rounded up at a shopping centre.

Despite their reputation, it appears that more often than not Ryodan members are the ones being targeted. Social media footage has shown the teenagers being threatened with knives and broken bottles, as well as having their hair forcibly trimmed by football hooligans and other “patriotic” youths. The brawls are believed to have started after the Ryodan youths decided to stand up for themselves.

“Everything in Russia is saturated with malice. Ryodan is the first generation to respond to the schizophrenia of its fathers and grandfathers. If it is crushed, a tougher and more uncompromising movement will arise,” Alexander Nevzorov, a Kremlin critic, warned.

Ukrainian police have alleged that Moscow is trying to weaponise the subculture. Ryodan members also gathered in the cities of Dnipro, Kyiv and Odesa, where they were confronted by police. The movement has spread to Minsk, the capital of neighbouring Belarus, where 200 teenagers were held on Tuesday.

Members say they have no interest in politics and simply want the freedom to dress as they please.

The Times